


Garden

by YouGottaBeBlitzenMyHearthstone (Aya_Chi007)



Series: The Chase Space [2]
Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 21:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12285009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aya_Chi007/pseuds/YouGottaBeBlitzenMyHearthstone
Summary: Some requests seem so far out of left field until you dig a little deeper.





	Garden

    Why Jayelle wants a garden, Hearthstone had no idea. She had presented the idea to him and Blitzen a few weeks earlier, her dark eyes twinkling with excitement as she spoke and signed her request. Both of them had been hesitant to agree. Blitzen couldn’t go out in daylight unless he donned his sunproof clothes and that was entirely too much effort and explanation. Which meant if she needed help with it, it would be up to her to get some of the other residents interested in a garden or get Hearth to help.

 

    Hearthstone looks up wearily as he catches sight of a hand waving out of his peripheral. Jayelle is trying not to smile, her face shaded under the brim of her straw sunhat. Pablo is busy next to her, delicately planting some sort of tree Hearthstone hadn’t caught the name of. Hearth’s already exhausted, his black clothes practically brown from digging in the dirt.

 

_ Need a break?  _ Jayelle signs, still fighting back a grin. Somehow, her clothes, blue denim overall shorts over a pink t-shirt, are practically spotless. Judging by the slight tremor in her shoulders, she’s fighting back laughter as well.

 

    The two of them end up lounging the the shade of the back deck. Pablo had offered to go inside to fix snacks and lemonade for them and Hearthstone hadn’t stopped him: If Blitzen was going to chew out someone for tracking dirt inside, it wasn’t going to be him. He looks out at the yard, studying the small changes they’ve managed. He has to admit, it makes the backyard seem friendlier, brighter. 

 

    He looks over at Jayelle, her face hidden in the shadow of her sunhat. He claps to get her attention.  _ Why a garden? _ He signs once she looks at him.   
  
    Jayelle smiles as she pulls off her hat, revealing her short natural coil curls. The sunlight, even in the shade, makes her dark complexion glow.  _ Is it okay if I talk?  _ She signs with a questioning glance.  _ I don’t think I can tell properly in signs.  _ After Hearth nods, her lips started forming her words instead.  _ My mama and I always gardened together when I was growing up. That woman could plant anything and it would flourish. It was unreal. She always said Grandma, her mom, was an even better gardener. _

 

_     What happened to her?  _ Hearthstone signs. He meant Jayelle’s mom, but she obviously took it differently. Or maybe she just wanted to interpret it that way.

 

_ I never got to meet her,  _ Jayelle responds.  _ My mom’s dad raised her by himself, but that was completely normal. He always told her that her mom couldn’t stay because of her family, but that was okay, she still loved her. She sent her these gloves on her sixteenth birthday.  _ Jayelle’s eyes drop to the simple gardening gloves sitting on the deck beside her. Hearthstone looks down as well. They’re simple enough: worn from years of use, but somehow still in good shape. The cuffs are decorated with green vines and red roses. He looks up again just in time to catch Jayelle’s next sentence:  _ I made sure I grabbed them before I left. _

 

    Hearthstone hesitates. Blitzen likes to remind him that these kids won’t be here forever, they’re just helping them get stable, get back on their feet or helping them stay on track until they’re legal adults.. Hearthstone knows what it’s like to lose a home though.  _ Why did you have to leave?  _ He signs, his expression cautious.

 

    Jayelle’s round eyes get misty.  _ We had a nice place. My parents both worked good jobs,  _ she says, staring past Hearth but facing him so he can read her lips.  _ Someone broke in. My parents both woke up because of the alarm. The burglar killed both of them before the police managed to get there.  _ Her thin lips curl in a sneer.  _ Not that they were in a rush.  _ She shakes her head, eyes dropping to her gloves again.  _ Neither of my parents had a will, so the courts decided their possessions would go to the oldest child. Which was my half-brother, Daylon. Dad’s kid from a high school relationship. _

 

_     You have a family still?  _ Hearthstone asks, feeling confused. It sounds like Jayelle had a good, loving home life.

 

    Her chest seems to jolt, a clear sign she just gave off a sharp laugh. _ If you can call that asshole that.  _ Her swearing doesn’t seem right. She’s only fourteen.  _ Daylon acted all sweet, him, his wife and their kids moved up from Pittsburgh, charming the courts, saying they’d take good care of me.  _ Her eyes flicker with emotions: sadness, anger, bitterness. Those are just the ones Hearthstone can pick up on.  _ I believed them too. Once everything was cleared and everything was in his name, he told me I had thirty minutes to get my shit packed and to get out of his house. _

 

__ Everything seems to make so much more sense. It explains why Jayelle has such nice clothes, why she’s so kind to every single soul that comes into the Chase Space, despite why or how long they’re there. It also sheds light on why she had been so wary, so mistrusting of everyone when she had first gotten there. She was expecting it to be too good to be true. Like being able to stay in her childhood home.

 

    His attention is caught by Jayelle wiping furiously at her eyes.  _ It’s why I wanted a garden. Mama would’ve told me to grow no matter where I ended up.  _ Her lips tremble.  _ I wanted something to remember her by. _

 

    Pablo ends up coming back out, carrying a tray of lemonade and sandwiches to find Jayelle sobbing into Hearthstone’s shoulder, trying to expel all of the misery and grief she hadn’t been able to face yet. Hearth just hugged her tightly, trying not to cry himself. He didn’t need Pablo asking why his tears were green.

  
    Later that week, he comes back from town with groceries and a black sun hat with matching black gardening gloves. Blitzen just stares at him before launching into a tirade of signs about fashion choices and  _ oh my gods, you stupid elf, you’re going to bake staying out in the sun in all back. _ Behind Blitzen though, Jayelle is beaming at him. That makes it worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thank you for reading! The Chase Space series is going to explore just the random adventures I imagine happening, all in the same universe


End file.
